Bill Nye slams GOP Rep. on science committee: Creationism is ‘not in the national interest’

Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) sits on the House science committee, but Bill Nye doesn’t think he’s much of a science guy.

Reacting to a video of Broun dismissing various scientific theories, including the theory of evolution, the longtime children’s television host declared that Broun’s creationist views “are not in the national interest.”

The reaction was triggered by a video of Broun’s comments to a Baptist church last month, which begins with him calling himself a “scientist.” Broun is a medical doctor who earned a degree in chemistry.

In the filmed comments, he goes on to claim that he’s informed by his own scientific expertise that evolution, the Big Bang theory, and embryology are all “lies straight from the pit of hell,” designed to keep people away from the Christian savior.

“Since the economic future of the United States depends on our tradition of technological innovation, Representative Broun’s views are not in the national interest,” Nye told Huffington Post‘s David Freeman. “For example, the Earth is simply not 9,000 years old.”

Nye went on to claim that Broun “is, by any measure, unqualified to make decisions about science, space, and technology.”

Broun sits on the Republican-controlled House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, which said last June that they were concerned the administration may be putting too much emphasis on clean, renewable energy while not giving enough help to oil and gas producers.

For his part, Nye also says he’s voting for Obama. “I believe we’re at a crossroads, a turning point,” he told a reporter in July. “We can either move forward, especially in education, or backward. I think voters have a clear choice, so I’m supporting the president.”
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About the Author

Stephen C. Webster is the senior editor of Raw Story, and is based out of Austin, Texas. He previously worked as the associate editor of The Lone Star Iconoclast in Crawford, Texas, where he covered state politics and the peace movement’s resurgence at the start of the Iraq war. Webster has also contributed to publications such as True/Slant, Austin Monthly, The Dallas Business Journal, The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Weekly, The News Connection and others. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenCWebster.